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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are in need of three points.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Stingray's prediction: With this being at the Bridge, I am going to back Chelsea. I think they will start off really well and go 2-0 up, then Everton will nick one back but then Chelsea score late. 3-1

AI's prediction: 2-0

Liverpool vs Brighton

Anfield, 15:00 GMT

I'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - but I do think they can get something at Anfield.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Stingray's prediction: This is a game which is going to give Liverpool a bit more of their confidence back. Obviously they had a good win in midweek and they can build more momentum here. 2-1

AI's prediction: 3-1

Sunday, 14 December

Sunderland vs Newcastle

Stadium of Light, 14:00 GMT

Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture